1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a member for controlling filling and/or drawing of a pressurized gas and to a tank and a circuit which are provided with such a member.
2. Related Art
Among known solutions for storage in gaseous form, bottles equipped with a simple tap are very favorable to operators and manufacturers for stock management purposes. If it is open, the simple tap puts the user directly into contact with the fluid at its storage pressure. In order to use the gas, it is thus necessary to connect various equipment (regulator, flowmeter, etc.) that requires tools and tedious operations. This type of operation entails risks especially when the user is not professional. This solution is thus not favorable to the end user.
More favorable to the end user is the regulator tap attached to the bottle and delivering the fluid at the pressure needed for the application. However, operating with such a tap involves significant constraints for manufacturers particularly in terms of stock management, maintenance and interface with the filling equipment.
Hence, none of the aforementioned existing solutions simultaneously takes account of the specific needs of the manufacturer and the customer.
Moreover, particularly in the field of storing combustible gases used as energy source on board vehicles (such as, for example, hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles or internal combustion engine vehicles), the normative and regulatory references or the safety rules demand the presence of a pressure-limiting safety member (pressure relief valve or PRD) which, in the event of fire, allows the complete evacuation of the gas contained in the tanks to the atmosphere, thus preventing these tanks from bursting.
In one configuration of a fixed tank on board a user system (for example a vehicle), the safety members are defined and consequently positioned permanently thereon. However, the problem is more complicated for gas storage devices intended to be placed on board following the “replacement of an empty tank by a full tank” principle. This is because, in the case of mobile containers, the safety member must follow the container throughout its life cycle (both outside and inside the user system).
The double life of these gas storage devices (on the one hand used as onboard tanks and on the other hand transported or stored under pressure during logistics phases) requires that the safety members have different behaviors according to the use phase.
The size, mass, structural simplicity and ease of use of these tanks and their control members are crucial factors for their large-scale use in a gas supply system of the “replacement of an empty tank by a full tank” type.
Conventional bottles equipped with a simple tap do not generally have a safety valve or limiter of the PRD type. In order to use the gas, it is thus necessary to connect the bottle to an onboard installation having at least one safety member of this type. The installation must also comprise a regulator. This increases the risks during use, especially when the user is not professional (leaks, projection of parts, etc.).
The invention thus aims to solve all or some of the aforementioned problems so as to provide, for example, a level of safety and efficiency in the storage and use of pressurized gas that satisfies all or some of the use constraints above and allows handling operations especially by non-specialists.